Conflicting reports have emerged regarding Emmy winner Heather Tom's (Victoria Newman) future with The Young and the Restless. According to her representative, Tom will leave the show by year's end because of "creative differences" with the show's executive producer David Shaughnessy. In a statement attributed to Tom, she states .....

"I want to thank all of my fans in daytime for making these 13 years such a joy for me," says Tom in an official statement. "A big thank you must go to [Y&R creator] Bill Bell for creating such a rich, complex character that I loved sinking my teeth into."

In a statement issued by Mr. Shaughnessy, the show's official position is that Tom isn't going anywhere.

"As far as Jack [Smith, Co-Executive Producer and Co-Head Writer] and I know, we are still in contract negotiations with Heather. There have never been any creative differences. In fact, we think Heather is an extremely talented actress and a tremendous asset to the show. We both have great respect for her work."

Tom previously left The Young and the Restless in April 1997, but she returned to the show several months later. Tom states that she will pursue other opportunities in television, though she did not explicitly state that she would seek out another role in daytime.

When we contacted Y&R this morning, we learned that the spokesperson for the show was leaving and a new spokesperson had not yet been named, so there was no one available to comment. However, the outgoing spokesperson said that he personally had not heard any rumblings about this development. What that means, we are not sure. He went on to recommend that we contact Tom's personal publicist directly. We are waiting to hear back from Tom's spokesperson and will update this story as soon as we have any further comments from him.

UPDATE: We have just heard from Heather Tom's personal publicist. According to him, her departure is a done deal. Here is what he says, ripped right from his email:

"heather tom will be leaving the role of victoria newmanon CBS's The Young and the Restless. The decision,mutually agreed upon by both the show and Ms. Tom, wasfor creative differences. Ms. Tom felt at this time itwas best to move onto other challenges both creativelyand personally."

Here is Tom's complete statement on her decision:

"I want to thank all of my fans in daytime for makingthese 13 years such a joy for me. They have been thereason I loved the character so much. I also want tothank my Y&R family, especially, Melody Thomas Scottand Eric Braden, for being so very supportive over theyears. I will miss them all very much. A big thankyou must go to Bill Bell for creating such a rich,complex character that i loved sinking my teeth into. I also want to thank the daytime press -- i haveenjoyed all of my conversations, lunches, and partieswith them and look forward to seeing them all soon."

Soapdom wishes Tom the best in her future endeavors. We will stay on top of this story and keep you informed.